Kayla Desroches/KMXT The CEO of Red Cross Alaska visited Kodiak last week. Tanguy Libbrecht says volunteers are vital to Red Cross in the case of an emergency, especially in rural Alaska. “Even when you think from the perspective of disaster readiness where in the Lower 48 they’re saying ‘Have a kit,’ which we tell people, ‘Be prepared, have a kit, …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Marijuana Task Force talked buffer zones at its meeting last week. According to state law, establishments must be 500 feet away from schools, buildings where religious services are held, youth and recreation centers, and correctional facilities. The assistant superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, Marilyn Davidson, gave input on the buffer zone …

Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT It’s the last day for a course at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center which will help seafood professionals sell the freshest, highest quality product to the public. Seafood Processing Quality Control Training, which began Monday, covers everything from the shelf-life of fish to water quality. “We teach them …

Bull elk in Alaska. Princess Lodges / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Alaska Department of Fish and Game cleared up a rumor that’s been spreading around Kodiak via Facebook and word of mouth. Last Saturday’s closure to elk hunting registration in the Kodiak area is not the result of one hunter’s massive haul of elk. Area biologist Nate Svoboda says the …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT Aspiring firefighters can now take a class in Kodiak that will prepare them for a career in firefighting anywhere in the United States. The Firefighter One course is part of a nationally accredited program that teaches its students the ethics, physics, and proper procedure of firefighting. Chief James Mullican of the Kodiak Fire Department says it’s the minimum …

This week on the Alaska Fisheries Report, commercial crabbers won’t be able to fish for tanner crab in the Eastern Aleutian District next year. In better news, the 2017 pink salmon season might be looking up in Southeast. And one researcher is studying how halibut fishermen feel about the monitoring program. We had help from KSTK’s Aaron Bolton in Wrangell, …

Instructor Kory Davis demonstrates Krav Maga technique with help from Merissa Koller Williams. Kayla Desroches / KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT An instructor in the art of Krav Maga flew into Kodiak this week as part of a selection of courses that focuses on self-defense for women. Kory Davis from Israeli Krav Maga Alaska says the Israeli self-defense system has its origins …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT There aren’t any Kodiak Island Borough Assembly or Kodiak City Council meetings this week, but that doesn’t mean a week off for local government. The city and borough clerks and members of both the elected bodies flew to Anchorage this week to attend the annual government conference of the Alaska Municipal League. AML consists of municipal representatives from …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT A workshop today will cover the writing system of the Alutiiq language. Alutiiq Museum executive director, April Laktonen Counceller, says the written version of the language only developed after contact with the Western world. “Although the Alutiiq language didn’t have a writing system per se, it did have a lot of different ways that people communicated visually using …

Kittlitz’s Murrelet. M. Reid / Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve Kayla Desroches/KMXT A graduate student and a group of college students just wrapped up a season of studying a rare seabird on Kodiak Island. Tim Knudson, a seasonal employee at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, is working on his master’s degree at Southern Illinois University and says he’s on …